Flash Gordon Left Me The Keys

The TEST OF ALL MOTHERS

Thursday, April 24, 2003

Verdict out on Patriot performance, but friendly fire kills a problem

At this stage in the 1991 Gulf War, the Patriot missile was a celebrated war hero credited with countless kills of Iraqi rockets. Only later was it learned that Patriots downed Scuds no more than four times in 47 firings.

This time, the Patriots have blasted more than 10 missiles but are being branded one of the biggest letdowns of the war.

The problem: The missile system also shot down two allied jet fighters.

"Obviously the biggest technological disappointment is the Patriot," said John Pike, a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. "Those are the only two airplanes that Patriots have ever shot down. The big glitch was the Patriot friendly fire."

The U.S. military, the Patriot's manufacturer and analysts say it is too early to tell how effective the Patriots were. But the system showed lethal flaws, despite a $3 billion upgrade of older Patriots since 1991.

The Patriot missile has been manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. at plants in Texas and Arkansas. Army soldiers at Fort Bliss in West Texas are trained and deployed for their operation. Members of the 507th Maintenance Company who were ambushed and taken prisoner by Iraqis are part of the 111th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, a Patriot missile unit.

Three coalition aviators were killed by Patriot hits, and the strikes accounted for nearly half the five airplanes lost by American and British forces. Iraqis apparently shot down two other fighters, while a third accidentally slid off a U.S. aircraft carrier.

"It didn't have to happen. Our own people killed him," Ana Mitchell said after her brother, Lt. Nathan White, was shot down in his F/A-18 south of Baghdad on April 2.

Two crew members of a British Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 aircraft became the war's first friendly-fire victims, when a Patriot battery hit them March 23.

Tragedy nearly struck again March 25, when a Patriot battery south of Najaf locked its radar onto an American F-16 fighter. The jet shot out the battery's radar system before its missiles had a chance to fire.

Raytheon Corp., which makes the Patriot as well as the Tomahawk cruise missile, bills the Patriot as "the world's most advanced ground-based air defense system."

But Raytheon spokesman Steve Brecken said it was premature to judge the Patriot's performance over the monthlong war. Asked about the friendly-fire episodes, he referred all questions to U.S. Central Command in Doha.

"We're only the manufacturer of the system, not its operational user," he said.

Central Command spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Charles Owens said that the missile's overall performance was "pretty good" but that the military is still investigating the downing of the planes.

At least 17 Iraqi missiles were launched from southern Iraq toward Kuwait during the war - almost all of them brought down by U.S. or Kuwaiti-operated Patriots.

Others fell harmlessly into the Persian Gulf or the desert, while another - a ground-hugging cruise missile - slipped under the radar and exploded near a pier in Kuwait City. Two people were treated for minor injuries.

Col. Jasim al-Huwaitan, who ran a Kuwaiti-operated Patriot missile battery during the war, has said it was "100 percent effective in its coverage area."

Rupert Pengelley, technical editor at the defense watcher Jane's Information Group, also said it was too early to say how effective the Patriots were. But he said there was "extreme cause for concern over the identification systems used for friend or foe."

Further study is needed to see exactly how many Patriots were fired, how many hit their targets and how challenging those targets were. Few, if any, of the missiles shot down during the war are believed to be the elusive Scuds that would really put Patriots to the test, Pengelley said.

After the Gulf War, the Pentagon trumpeted the Patriot's effectiveness by claiming an 80 percent success rate. But a congressional analysis afterward said Patriots shot down Scuds just four times in 47 firings.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology missile expert Theodore Postol declared in 1991 there was no evidence the Patriots ever hit a Scud.

Since then, Raytheon and subcontractor Lockheed Martin have made substantial improvements.

"At this point in the last Gulf War, we thought the Patriot did a great job," Pike said. "At this point now, I just don't know."

Bonf could no longer endure that voice. "No more! Have mercy!"
"The man on that tape," said Q, "is Tom Shine, American diamond importer. He's one of the rising stars in the industry."

"Must he do his own commercials?" Bonf cried.

"Pay attention, 007." Q showed a slide. "Most gem-quality diamonds come from Africa and Russia. The market is controlled by the Dutch-based DeBeers cartel. On the supply side, they exploit low-paid mine workers; on the demand side, they market diamonds as investments, or tokens of undying love. In between, they restrict supplies to inflate prices.

"Your weapons are this universal remote and this stun-gas pager. Call this number to release the gas. Take these pills for immunity. This is an evil industry, Bonf. Break up that cartel."

Fourteen hours later, Bonf's jet touched down in Johannesburg. At a Paul Simon concert, he danced with a ravishing dark-skinned girl; after dinner, they made love. When he awoke, she was gone; a snake slithered toward him. "Another snake again?" Bonf said, killing it.

Pretending to own a chain of Chicago jewelry stores, Bonf entered the bidding room, where DeBeers matched buyers with goods. Tom Shine gave a small speech, then invited the group to see his new mine in Lesotho. A chartered bus waited outside, engine running.

Inside the mine, Shine herded them into a large grotto. Armed guards appeared, blocking the exits. Shine handed everyone a cellular phone. "The dynamics of the market have changed," he announced. "To participate in future purchases will require a Personal Sales License, distributed by the Shine company. We will expand your markets to new lands. In return, you will contribute 15 percent of your gross income, as well as a license fee of 125 million dollars. Does anyone decline this offer?"

Bonf took two tablets and called his pager. In seconds everyone was out cold but Bonf… and Tom Shine. "Nice try, Bonf," Shine said, pointing a gun at him. "I've always been immune to stun gas. Now come this way."

"You're in a gutter business, Shine," said Bonf. "Paying indigenous workers pennies a day to tear up the earth. Convincing people to empty their bank accounts to buy shiny bits of rock. Setting up a cartel system to keep the prices high."

They reached a dead end, where a large drilling truck had just bitten into some new ore. "You'll die here, the others will wake up, and we'll be back where we started," said Shine.

Bonf, using his remote, started up the driller. "I'll bet two month's pay that doesn't happen." The truck leapt forward and the drill bits chewed Shine into small bloody shreds.

By the time the Peace Center came into being the Saturday Night Group had disappeared when so many people went to Canada. The remnants were available for the new effort though it was originally limited to draft counseling. The draft work had been ongoing in an ad hoc sort of manner by individual volunteers. Vietnam took counseling from the theoretical to the hard facts of realty. Lives were very much in jeopardy.

The true organizing work of the 1970s was not by or through the Peace Center with it’s limited vision. Something different popped up - nuclear power. The proposal to site nuclear energy facilities east of Waterford brought opposition. It became necessary to take on at various times Pacific Gas & Electric, General Electric, Livermore, Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District. It was a new learning experience to do under pressure. Stanislaus Safe Energy came into existence to block, refute and deny any such facility. Of course government bodies and Farm Bureau were all for it.

For once the Modesto Bee did it - a half page story with pictures of the half dozen up front for Safe Energy. Public meetings, Dr. John Gofman, the pancake breakfast a 3 month net picked Notice of disintent was created and in time the Harvest Supper was started as a second fund raiser. Safe Energy’s last major public event was at the County Fair 1987 in the midst of the super conductor-super collider protest. The proponents of this super welfare program were the University of California, Livermore, liberal Democrats, Chambers of Commerce as usual, school systems and of course government agencies.

In between came the farm workers to Modesto, 8000 on foot or car to add to the 1000 or so already at Graceada. Vietnam was over so released a lot of energy to work on farm worker issues. Gallo's far and above the great villain as a large outfit interested in being limited by a Union. What was Modesto to do with such an invasion with it’s inflammatory possibilities.

Having done crowd control by invitation several times in San Francisco’s anti-war marches, it was an interesting challenge,Organizer Chuck Gardenier and I agreed it would be useful to have a non-violent presence on March 1, l975. Since there had been joint meetings with California Highway Patrol, sheriff deputies of several counties, Modesto Police, Chuck and I were known to them at least. There had been violence along with the march in Merced County. So in the blue jeans and jacket with red arm band I was a presence all along to the side to take (block) intersections or along the front as Modesto was cut in half from Gallo to Graceada Park. Holding half of Needham for the crowd was traffic messy but there was no violence. Modesto police backed off and left the crowd it's own

discipline.

When the Latin Americas group decided to sit in Tony Coehlo’s office during the Nicaraguan Contra imbroglio I was brought in to do the non-violence organizing. Now with the people ready to sit it could be done all at once, a big bang. It appeared more useful to split into three groups for larger impact. So poor Jane Jackson, who knew many of us, had to be at her desk three days to watch people be arrested. It was not that Coehlo was a poor congressman but as one in a leadership position position more needed to be done to end the conflict.

Whatever organizational skills there may be, it cannot work without other people. Foremost were Howard Washburn and Howard TenBrink who was there from the beginning at the monthly Fellowship of Reconciliation Meetings. He was in Nevada,Self Help Housing (SHE) (Visalia), Everyman building, Coehlo offices and in late years collating Stanislaus Connections.

much of his family he was killed in an automobile accident. Jake Kirihara(Livingston) SHE board, Livermore, Coehlo, United Technology Missile plant (Merced Co)

Mel Harvey was of this breed Nevada, arrested for leafleting IRS Modesto (I was not ready for arrest, nor was Betty Tillotson or Frank Muench), Oakland Induction Center 1967. Mary Harvey upon the Everyman sentencing in 1960 went to Nevada, crossed the line, given 30 days - the only woman in the Tonopah jail, (second floor). These folks were there; open, allowing, available for joint action over a period of many years.

For its time slot Safe Energy found Dan Pollack (Ecology Action) a stalwart. Jim Higgs came along in the 1970s but did not break out until the 1980s with more than one visit to Livermore and residence in Santa Rita. Involved with the United Technology vesture and sit in at Coehlo’s - a long time Peace Center board member. He could be frustrating certainly but did hang in with Peace Center activities as long as possible. Kay Barnes who overcame her military raising to come to look at Peace. For nearly 20 years she did the little things to keep the Center going, .as a volunteer. As usual there was little thanks.

Not doing in public does not mean the service is worth less. One does not relish the value of such help until it is gone. A venture to Livermore was not her thing. An example of her commitment: When coming out of the Stanislaus County jail for sitting in at Coehlo’s office I was totally disoriented. It had been a hot day, the air conditioning broke down leaving the inmates dripping, half clothed. For once Zane Clark, or whoever was running the place arranged for mates to shower out of regulation. Mine was at midnight but the cell was crowded with most on the floor. Next morning I was pushed out the door after minimal sleep. But there was my guardian angel, Kay, to transport the carcass to Waterford. Christmas This was a service more than once was provided at the Choose Life Christmas-blockings at Livermore. My going number there is under 1000 as one of the lags(1960) though they can have 10,000 entices to Santa Rita in a year. No organizer can do it without help. When one is lucky there are those who can be leaned upon for years.

Those who dare to follow conscience under fear but refuse to allow it to dominate or paralyze action and are in this sense free. After exposure to various situations there is an esprit which may well appear to be arrogance. Experience has taught certain lessons. There are probabilities of behavior and results. However, planning based on effectiveness tends to backfire as the means become distorted by the desire.

Results are long term. It is ludicrous to expect change of a useful nature in under five years. Patience is not a virtue much cultivated, our ego demands satisfaction.

After the Saturday Night Group (Stanislaus County) experienced the Nevada Test Site in August, 1957, it seemed other things could be done to continue the anti-nuclear weapons effort.

How about a public meeting in Livermore, the heart of the beast. I contacted Roy Kepler in Palo Alto about his interest; it all seemed possible. Linus Pauling happened to an overflow audience chaired by Al Baez. Just who really obtained the speaker is open to question. Roy would say he did; Ben Seaver of American Friends Service Committee- San Francisco - would say they did. There was some flak over a prior speech in Southern California sponsored by AFSC there. Pauling was piqued because the opposition (proponents for nuclear weapons), got to speak last. The constituency for the November 1957 meeting were Saturday night group(Modesto), Rural Life Conference of mostly Central Valley people, Kepler’s group from the Peninsula plus an East Bay group. Days after the meeting, Dick Kramer and I tried to follow-up on the sign up sheet and ran across Paul Wesley, a physicist at the Radiation Lab, Livermore.

Linus Pauling refused to do Congress’s will when called before a Congressional committee. A note from his son much later indicates that was a very rough time for this scientist. Because Pauling was unafraid of thinking differently he took on Vitamin C as a cold alleviator. Anyone who follows non-traditional lines (Vitamin C), funding for research was limited. Pauling’s Nobel for Chemistry could not be ignored. His Nobel for Peace came because of his wife, Ava Helen, his pillar of support in that area. Years ago they were the recipients of the ACLU Earl Warren award in San Francisco. He still had the fires burning that late in life. The Linus Pauling Institute moved from Palo Alto to Oregon State University, Pauling’s Alma Mater, after his death. John Gofman, an integral part of the anti-nuclear power struggle came to speak in Modesto in April, 1975, when there was a proposed nuclear power facility east of Waterford by PG&E, MID, TID. A group in Waterford were fortunate to have dinner with John and learn something of him as a person. His approach was Libertarian. Once a well thought of employee of the Rad Lab, Gofman had written a book Poisoned Power (1971), about energy derived from uranium fuel, (radioactive)with a forward by Mike Gravel, Alaska Senator who agreed nuclear pollution is certainly a most serious threat to life.

Gofman and of course his co-author were defunded at the Lab. The message of the book laid out the danger of nuclear energy. Gofman insisted that all such radiation was a health issue - there was no threshold of acceptable exposure. The federal government needed acceptability of some radiation to make nuclear produced electricity palatable to the general public. A further argument can be made that nuclear energy was the plus side to acceptance of nuclear weapons as a tool of government.

At the time of Chernobyl Gofman extrapolated his numbers showing the damage was far greater than published by the experts. He has for years worked out the numbers on a medical basis. Years later fruit from Turkey was banned - radioactive, as was Scandivanian reindeer meat. When Gofman spoke in the old MID auditorium in April 1975 there was a full house, the opposition failed to show.

Shamefully, the Abalone Alliance blackballed Gofman though he had spoken at a rally Diablo Canyon, San Luis Obispo. His error was to still distrust the Soviet Union when it came to nuclear weapons. His crime was a failure of political correctness in our moral eyes.

Paul Wesley and I kept in contact. Memory says we were out front at the Lab leafleting as usual and he would accept them. He would also hand out stuff to us. They were also taking license plate numbers. Saturday Night group, Keplers East Bay visited the lab to leaflet Easter 1958, Easter, 1959, once the city of livermore was leafleted, door to door, with the walk-in of Kepler, Stallings, Tyson and Wheeler in 1960.

Wesley had his sabbatical but lost his clearance not long later, taught in Missouri, ended in Germany had a new family and was the house husband. Whereas ie could do well as a painter what is in him is physics especially. Some years ago he wrote his ecophysicis. His outlook is that physics is an orthodox religion. One might say that of much of science. He feel Einstein needs correction way back in American he was by-passing the Atomic Energy Committee by having papers published abroad, a no-no as things were to be cleared by Atomic Energy Commission and published in time, maybe.

Committee for Nuclear Responsibility has for 30 years been publishing John Gofman’s comments on medical aspects of exposure to nuclear radiation.

One might wonder what Harry Elmer Barnes would think of such lives. His Twilight of Christianity, holds little hope for the church in general because for him it is all myth. Kirby Page is quoted more favorably as a follower of the social gospel. If there must be religion Page and others like him could help. Kirby Page was an optimist rather hoping the Methodists would become the fourth peace church.[1] Presently, the loudest Christian noises are made by the literal bible folk and the preservation of Jerusalem for Christians.

Another look into the past is Eminent Asians by Josef Washington Hall (Upton Close)1929. A then time portraiture of Yamagato and Ito (Japan) Sun Yat Sen, Mustapha Kemal (Turkey), Josef Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi does present a differing view and more friendly appraisal. Even Mussolini gets more kudos then brickbats. Since Gandhi was killed in 1948 much of the material is not contemporary for most people. The material is useful as perspective as lives which did bring uproar and changes. Whether this was progress is an entirely different matters, chacun a son gonts.

It all does raise the question about leadership and non-violence for the new century. Are there some basic risk takers on the horizon?

They were the only group that did not fight the U.S. Army and therefore made no treaty with the white invaders. The Navajo migration was a late one. They moved into Hopi areas with their sheep. The Hopi had a primitive agriculture but sophisticated in its adaptability to weather conditions. Sheep are the devastators of the world as they graze so close to the earth there is little vegetation to block soil erosion. The Navajo moved in on much of the Hopi land with a high birth rate and aggressive in action. When the Dutch came in the 1650s there were Hottentots and remnants of the Khor. For around 100 years very little had changed around the Cape-a few more farms. One important change was the coming of the Huguenots. It is useful to consider historic France often largely under the control of the Catholic Church. In southern France there came to be dissenters in both a religious and political sense. The edict of Nantes,1589, was the first document in the history of Christianity to grant religious toleration in a country. However, by 1624 war was being fought against the Huguenots. In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked with 400,000 dissenters leaving France. A number went to South Africa taking with them the knowledge of vineyards. French names are among the oldest in S. Africa and wine has long been an export crop. Real change came with Napoleon. England did not want France to control the Cape so took control in 1795. At the time there were around 10,000 Dutch, 2500 French and 5000 from other areas. Dutch and English did not mix well, the Dutch (Boer) moved north as British emigrants came in large numbers in 1820 - a government settlement program. When the Dutch thinly settled in as cattle farmers, local people were used as labor. London was far away yet it decreed the summary abolition of slavery without compensation 1832-1833. It was a commonality to use slave labor around the world. British church folk were adamant about ending obvious slavery, especially the Presbyterians of Scotland. They could not see the parallel in the economic slavery in Great Britain brought on industrialization, (read Dickens on the poor). The enclosure act in Britain took away the rural commons where the community had access to pasture could have a cow and live with less recourse to a money society. As the rural areas lost their common ground people were forced off the land into the cities and paid work when it was available. As more settlers came from Great Britain the Boers moved northeast to the edges, and tried to create a country of their own but were thwarted in gaining access to the sea by Cecil Rhodes and his gang fronting for English politics. In the meantime pressures in Central Africa were propelling groups of Bantu eastward and then South along the Indian Ocean. The last of these were the Herrero who came down west in what now is Namibia. The earliest Bantu tribes were pushed by succeeding migration waves those the farthest south on the east coast and therefore were the earliest in contract with the British. The Zulu tribe settled in Natal area, Northeast along the coast. The Zulu, a warrior tribe chose not to be merged. They were the scourge of other groups and nearly defeated British troops using spears against guns, more than once. In the year 2000 the Zulus remain in their area. As the largest tribe it feels slighted by the new government with the coming of Mandela and his African Nation Congress Cohorts. The British waged war against the Transvaal area and the Orange Free State 1899-1902. it was an opportunity for the British to try out their weapons readying for World War I. The Boers used a citizen militia army fighting for their homes. There were crops to be tended. More than once the British were on the ropes but the Boers did not follow through as they were essentially farmers. The war became very unpopular in Britain as troops were swallowed up in South Africa. The British came up with concentration camps to break the will of the Boer by taking women and children from the farms originating concentration camps as a means to control. Much of the economy of South Africa is related to diamonds and gold from geologic fracture zone of hundreds of miles. There is a fracture zone of hundreds of miles. The mines not only were the basis for the economy but dictated social patterns. DeBeers diamonds (a near worldwide monopoly) has a Dutch name because that was the farm from which the first diamonds were found. It is British owned (Rothschild). Very little of the mine profits accrue to S. Africa since the capital came mostly from the English or from Germany. The mines distorted social policy: pass laws, search, poor education, migratory labor. Bantu tribe people came in, were used and discarded. Much of what the Nationalists did later was already in place for British industry. One could not leave a diamond mine without a strip search and defecation to block smuggling. It has been a long way around to apartheid and the ruination of an economy. The Nationalists came to power in 1948. Try to remember where you were then. Civilian Public Service (Conscientious Objectors to W.W.II) ended in 1946. People went back to school, got married. The first national draft card burning was in 1947, organized in LA Area by FOR(Fellowship of Reconciliation) and Julius Steelink and Manual Talley. Jackie Robinson was the first Black to get into professional baseball in 1947. First freedom ride was organized in 1947 by the Congress of Racial Equality(Core) and FOR in 1947. In 1948 Alan Paton’s book “Cry the Beloved Country” was published to acclaim but no action. South Africa was not news in the USA, the Nationalists were elected after years of British rule. Remember South Africa was where Gandhi was put off a train because of his color and then stayed some years to help emigrants from India. There was plenty of sympathy with Germany in W.W.II by the Boer element, long displaced in a country they developed. A major fault was their wish just to be farmers. Slavery had formally been abolished long before it was in the United States but it was not difficult to install a system of economic slavery - the mines. The Nationalists translated this history into a more formal social slavery to go with the economic debasement of the Bantu people of color. So it went without much international outcry despite the killings through government killings. Some people resisted over the years and at various levels. The African National Congress (ANC) came into being partly influenced by avowed Communists, partly non-violent and partly violent. The government controlled the police power and most of the court power but not all the church. In the United States the outcry was unfocused as a national issue until until in the mid 1980s when the Black Caucus in Congress began to thunder. Disinvestment and sanction became a social cause. The economy of South Africa was to be punished for its failure in human relations. It was a successful protest by any measure. American companies pulled out of South Africa-such good justice finally. Several things happened. It is presumed south Africa went to nuclear weapons development down home. It did develop a synthetic gasoline industry based on its plentiful coal deposits to counter oil embargoes. The ANC learned to necklace the opposition. A necklace is a tire dropped over the head, with gasoline applied, set afire. Between the government and the opposition many middle ground people were murdered, the moderates. Seemingly, it was based on the biblical misconstruction; if you are not for me you are against me. A most discouraging aspect of the years of confrontation was the decision to shut schools. The blame for this goes to both sides. It was part of the liberation effort to deny government by shutting down schools. Bantu education was minimal anyway, as a control measure. Now the country needs to move ahead. There are all those poorly educated people unready for employment. Unemployment is very high. Another effect of no schooling is gang activity. Necklacing was not a one on one effort but a gang attack. The present criminal activity is out of control and could easily destroy government. The habit of gang activity with poor education is a milestone for the economy and its social structure. Now that apartheid is officially banned industry cannot snap back. U.S. Corporations are back, yes, but they do not hire nearly as many people as formerly. Like it or not many have to start at the bottom when there are many investment opportunities in the world that are more enticing. (Wall Street Journal February 11, 2000)(WSJ)Nelson Mandela has been back 10 year but the economy has not come with him. At least hew did keep the southern end of Africa from exploding into all out violence. Over the years thousands of Bantu were removed from land near or in white communities. Slowly their land is being returned. Unfortunately the government can help little in getting communities reestablished (WSJ March 10, 2000). It will take generations to refurbish the country. The fruits of revolution are more euphoric than edible; the same comeuppance came to the Sandanistas. A prolonged upsetting destroys the work of generations proceeding upheavals. It is just not possible to build enough houses, infrastructures as per promises: which often ensures a political backlash. Do no harm There is sort sociological theorem that once social change is allowed, it will keep happening. South Africa was changing slowly changing before the Mandela release. It is human nature to want it now; nature otherwise is a slow mover. Wanting it now regularly avoids being able to see clearly the risk-reward equation. South Africa was once the only fully operating economy in all of Africa. It is now more of a derelict economy. When we all decided to whip S. Africa into our shape we joyfully disinvested and sanctioned. The cost to us was minimal. The result in South Africa has been catastrophic but it is neither seen nor felt in our lives. The people who pay are always the poor, true of South Africa, as it is now the poor who suffer in Iraq from the bombing.

Aiight: Slang, adv. (1)safe or unharmed. (2)yes or very well 3)satisfactory 4)without fail Derived from “all right”, Aiight carries many of the same meanings. Also can mean mediocre. Often used in exclamatory fashion to show agreement. Primarily used in the Northeast(NY,NJ,CT,etc), United States

Aparthied: Standard, n. (1)the system of racial segregation as practiced in The Republic of South Africa.

Bling-Bling: Slang, n, v. (1)to show off a material possesion, usually jewelry or a car (2)a gaudy or flashy material possesion. Has gained national acceptance in usage.

Block-Huggers: Slang, n, (1)people who rarely, if ever, leave their block or neighborhood without being coerced.

Bone: Slang, v. (1)to have sex with. Standard, n. (1)Any of numerous anatomically distinct structures making up the skeleton of a vertebrate animal. There are more than 200 different bones in the human body.

Brains: Slang, v, n. (1)oral sex or the act of performing oral sex (on a male). Standard, n. (1)The portion of the vertebrate central nervous system that is enclosed within the cranium, continuous with the spinal cord, and composed of gray matter and white matter. It is the primary center for the regulation and control of bodily activities, receiving and interpreting sensory impulses, and transmitting information to the muscles and body organs. It is also the seat of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion. (2)intellectual ability; mind; intelligence.

Buster: Slang, n. (1) an individual easy to disrespect and or violate, usually do to cowardice or the desire to avoid conflict. Primarily used in Western, United States(CA).

Bustdown: Slang, n. (1)a female known for being extremely promiscuous (sleeping around) primarily used in the Midwest(IL), United States.

This is a relatively new one, and I have heard it too many times. Simply put, people use this word to refer to a female who has been...bust down...over and over and over again. What people would call a slut, a ho, or a rat.

Butta: Slang, adj. (1)pleasant to look at, usually used in reference to cars, clothes, and attractive people of the opposite sex. Derived from “Butter”. Primarily used in the Northeast(NY,NJ,CT,etc), United States

Cake: Slang, n, v. (1)money and or financial assets. Standard, n. (1)A usually sweet, baked food made of flour, liquid, eggs, and other ingredients, such as raising agents and flavorings. (2)A layer or deposit of compacted matter: a cake of grime in the oven.

Chickenhead: Slang, n.(1)a female of low class and/or moral stature (2)a foul disreputable woman usually lacking goals and direction. Chickenhead has origins in the Northeast, United States but has gained national understanding.

Chronic: Slang, n. (1)a type of marijuana usually smoked in the Western and Southwestern, United States. Standard, adj. (1)continuing over a long time or recurring frequently, as a disease. (2)habitual or of long standing. Chronicaly.,adv Chronicity., n

Clucker: Slang, n.(1)a crackhead or drug addict. Primarily used in the Midwest (Chicago), United States.

Cockblock: Slang, n, v. (1)a person who prevents sexual intercourse between other consenting individuals with their presence or through direct actions. Cockblocking.,v

Cold: Slang, adj. (1)of high quality. (2)pleasing to look at. Standard, adj. (1)having or giving off a cool sensation. (2)being of a low temperature. Primarily used in the Midwestern, United States(IL, MI, WI).

COINTELPRO: Standard, n. (1)Domestic counterintelligence programs utilized by the FBI to surveil, infiltrate, and sabotage various non-governmental groups within the United States. This term is used especially in reference to the counterintelligence programs undertaken by the FBI during the 1940-50's against 'Socialist/Communist' social movements, as well as African-American and Native-American civil rights movements during the 1960-70's.

Co-sign: Slang, v. (1)the act of adding to or supporting the words and/or actions of another individual, often without solicitation by the individual being co-signed for. Usually has negative connotations. Co-signer.,n

Crunk/Krunk: Slang, adj (1)To be enjoyable, usually in reference to a party. (2)to become excited and/or agitated. Primarily used in the Southern, United States.

Fifty-four Elevens(54.11s): Slang, n. (1)Reebok sneakers often worn by adolescescent females and/or Chickenheads. Derived from the price of the sneaker which formerly was $49.99 plus New York City City Sales Tax which totalled up to $54.11. Originated in NY, primarily used in Northeast United States Tri-State Area(NY,NJ,CT,etc).

Five-O(5-0): Slang, n. (1)a police officer or police presence.

Fo'Sho/Fo'Shizzle: Slang, (1)Derived from "For Sure", definite. Fo'Sho is primarily used in the Midwest, United States. Fo'Shizzle is primarily used in the Western, United States. Both have gained national acceptance.

Front: Slang, n. (1)to lie and/or exaggerate. (2)to intentionally mislead especially when concerning accomplishments. Frontin.,v. Standard, n. (1)the foremost part of surface of anything. (2)the part that seems to be directed forward. (3)a place or position directly before anything. (4)the place where combat operations are carried on. (5)Informal, someone or something that serves as a cover or disguise for another activity.

Herb: Slang, n, v (1) an individual easy to disrespect, take advantage of, and/or violate, usually do to cowardice or the desire to avoid conflict. Primarily used in Northeastern, United States. (2)marijuana. Standard, n. (1)A plant whose stem does not produce woody, persistent tissue and generally dies back at the end of each growing season. (2) Any of various often aromatic plants used especially in medicine or as seasoning

Hella: Slang, adj (1)very or extremely. Primarily used in Western, United States(Cali).

Hot: Slang, n. (1)of high quality. (2)pleasing to look at. Standard, adj. (1)having or giving off great heat. (2)being of a high temperature. (3)causing a burning sensation. (4)spicy in flavor. (5)marked by intensity. (6)currently popular(informal). (7)performing with great skill or unusually fortunate (informal). (8)angry (informal).

Hype: Slang, n.(1)a crackhead or drug addict. Primarily used in the Midwest (especially Chicago), United States but has become understandable in most parts of the country.

Jack: Slang, v (1)to steal. Originated in Western, United States.

Jake: Slang, n (1)a police officer or police presence. Primarily used in the Northeastern, United States.

John-Blaze/Johnny-Blaze: Slang, adj (1)see hot. Primarily used in the Northeast(NY,NJ,CT), United States.

Krunk/Crunk: Slang, adj (1)To be enjoyable, usually in reference to a party. (2)to become excited and/or agitated. Primarily used in the Southern , United States.

L-7: Slang, adj (1)an individual who conforms to all the rules set forth by the dominant culture even when they are in opposition to seemingly more sensible and reasonable alternatives. (2)geometrical reference to square based on the informal meaning of the term square.

Mad: Slang, adj (1)very or extremely. Primarily used in Northeastern, United States(NY,NJ,CT).

Mark: Slang, n. (1) an individual easy to disrespect and or violate, usually do to cowardice or the desire to avoid conflict. (2) a person prone or soon to be the victim of a crime, especially a crime involving robbery and/or violence. Standard, n, v. (1)something appearing distinctly on a surface, as a dot. (2)a sign used in measuring, writing, etc. (3)an object of derision or scorn.

Naw'mean/Nah'mean: Slang, (1)understand what I'm saying. Derived from “Know what I mean or know what I'm saying”. Often used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis. Primarily used in the Northeast, United States.

No Homo: Slang, (1)punctuation-like phrase, that follows a statement or sentence which could have ambiguous social meaning due to the influx of homothugs and bisexual behavior. (2)not to be interpreted in a homosexual way. Originated in New York City but is rapidly gaining recognition throughout the Eastern, United States.

Off-the-Hook: Slang, n. (1)of high quality. (2)pleasing to look at.

Ova the Top:: slang, n. (1)over exaggerated attempt to prove or show how authentic or real someone or something is. (2)too much of something

One-time: Slang, n (1)a police officer or police presence. Primarily used in the Western, United States(Cali).

Paper: Slang, n, v. (1)money and or financial assets. Standard, n. (1)A material made of cellulose pulp, derived mainly from wood, rags, and certain grasses, processed into flexible sheets or rolls by deposit from an aqueous suspension, and used chiefly for writing, printing, drawing, wrapping, and covering walls.

Pie: Slang, n (1)an undisclosed quantity of material, usually used in reference to illicit drugs and or money. Standard, n. (1)a baked food composed of a pastry shell filled with fruit, meat, cheese, or other ingredients, and usually covered with a pastry crust. (2)a whole that can be shared.

Please-Believe-Me/It: Slang, (1)exclamatory term often used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis on the truth expressed by the preceding sentence. Primarily used in the Western, United States(Cali).

Redbone: Slang, adj. (1)an African-American of light skin complexion. Usually used in reference to females.

Save: Slang, v. (1)to rescue a person from danger or harm due to manipulation by the person being rescued (2)to be excessively nice to a person due to romantic interest, especially females. Savin' ., v. Standard, adj. (1)to rescue from danger. (2)to deliver from sin. (3)to pressure or safeguard. (4)to prevent waste. (5)to set aside for future use; store. (6) to copy a file from main memory to a storage medium (computer science).

Scrub: Slang, n. (1)a man lacking possessions that would be considered attractive by many people, especially women, such as a nice car, personal living space, and/or money (2)a man lacking goals and/or motivation. Standard, n. (1)to rub hard, as with a brush in washing. (2)to remove by hard rubbing (3)a domestic animal of inferior breeding. (4)a small or insignificant person. (5)Sports, a person not belonging to the regular team.

Shook: Slang, n, v. (1)to be scared or frightened. (2)to scare or frighten. Standard, v. (1)To cause to move to and fro with jerky movements. (2)To cause to quiver, tremble, vibrate, or rock. (3)To cause to lose stability or waver: a crisis that shook my deepest beliefs. (4)To remove or dislodge by jerky movements: shook the dust from the cushions.

Shout-Out: Slang, n, v. (1) to acknowledge a friend or acquaintance verbally or through writing. Usually done on TV or radio, or in the credits of some artistic work.

Stunner: Slang, n. (1)a person who is prone to front on. (2) a person who shows off, often with material possesions such as jewelry and cars.

Stunt-dummy: Slang, n. (1)an imitation of a product or person. (2)a cheap knock off or imitation

Tight: Slang, n. (1)personally close; intimate. (2)stingy; difficult. (3)to be very good, especially in reference to music and viewable content; of high quality. (4)to be upset about something. Standard, n. (1)fixed or fastened firmly in place. (2)stretched or drawn out fully. (3)of such close construction as to be inpermeable. (4)compact; firm. (5)fitting close or too close to the skin. (6)closely contested.

Trip: Slang, v. (1)to become agitated or angry. (2)to act in a highly unpredictable manner. (3)a hallucinatory experience induced by a psychedelic drug. Standard, v. (1)A going from one place to another; a journey. (2)A stumble or fall.

Wanksta:: slang, adj (1)a wannabee thug, imitation hustler, or psuedo gangster (2)somebody who has been doing illegal activities for a long time but does not have any material possessions to show for it.

Wet: Slang, v., adj. (1)to shoot with a firearm or to be shot with a firearm. (2)to be under the influence of the hallucinogenic drug PCP(Angel Dust). Standard, v., n., adj. (1)covered or soaked with water or another liquid. (2)not yet dry.

Wifey: Slang, n. (1)girlfriend- usually used by men in reference to a woman they are dating primarily, but not necessarily exclusively. If actual marriage occurs this term should no longer be used.

Bling! Bling! What are they doing in Cartagena?
I've seen some pretty ignorant and bizarre things in music over the last few years, but of all the things I've witnessed today's “Bling-Bling” syndrome has to be the worst. Sometimes I wonder where the hell this absurd obsession with diamond jewelry came from. I mean flossin' and frontin' have always played a part in rap but this shit is ridiculous! You can't even blame a region because the obsession is everywhere, East, West, South, Midwest, and everywhere between. You've all heard it; the jewelry praises roll off forked tongues from Roc-A-Fella to the Hot-Boyz. Nowadays rappers make songs in tribute to Diamonds(“Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend”-Jay-Z), spend better than 50 thousand dollars on a single piece of Jewelry, and then insult their fans (the people who paid for that jewelry) about being broke. Ain't that about a bitch!? The more I think about the more I think that these rappers just must not know any better.

“you know the wrist frost bit/minus two degrees/ about as blue as the sea/.”

I can't help but wonder, what if Jay-Z knew that for more than a century the men controlling the diamond industry have been hardcore racist, some of whom were the founding fathers of Apartheid, and ruthlessly exploited black Africans as well as others. The Dutch, Germans, British, as well as other tribes of Europeans had come to Africa to pull, what today we would call a jack move. Many Europeans had convinced themselves that Africans and other non-whites were inferior people and many of the rest would do so later to justify their immoral actions. From this situation the racial segregation system of Apartheid was born, in South Africa, as well as similar social orders in other parts of Africa. (The horrors and injustices suffered by Africans during this time period, some of which still occur today, are a beyond the scope of this discussion but I invite you to do your own research.)

Cecil Rhodes, for whom Rhodesia(modern day Zimbabwe) was named essentially started the diamond industry back in the 1880's diamond rush when he “purchased” the farm of Dutch Boer farmers Deiderick Arnoldus & Johannes Debeers, who had become tired of diamond speculators on the land. This farm would eventually turn into one of the largest mines in Africa at the time (Debeer's currently has a mine 3 times the size of New Jersey called the “Forbidden Zone”). Rhodes then went on to “buy” several other mines until he controlled 90% of the world's gemstones. Shortly after that Ernest Oppenheimer made a large discovery of diamonds in “German Southwest Africa”, that rivaled Rhodes mines. Oppenheimer threatened to flood the market with diamonds and drive the price down if Rhodes did not make him chairman of Debeers which was Rhodes's Company at the time. Oppenheimer's company had financial investment from British investors and J.P. Morgan so it was called Anglo-American. Today, diamonds are a multi Billion dollar industry and most of them come from Southern African countries, yet black Africans from these countries remain some of the poorest people in the world.

What if the Hot Boyz knew that from those early days up until today, the profits from the diamond industry were the most important factor in upholding the regions racist policies and white minority rule. The best example is in South Africa. Once diamonds were discovered, the South African government instituted policies designed to force black Africans off their land and into the diamond mines to work in conditions similar to slavery. This was accomplished by the government creating new taxes on virtually everything from land to pets. In order to get money to pay the taxes black Africans had no choice but to work in the mines. For all their moral talk foreign investors, mainly in America and Europe, played a key role in upholding the South African government and economy, and similar ones throughout southern Africa.

During the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, where South African police murdered 67 blacks anti-apartheid demonstrators in the township of Sharpeville, many foreign companies and investors pulled out their investments (not for moral reasons but out of fear of South African instability) and sold their shares of stock. Anglo-American bought up these shares to uphold to the apartheid economy. Other examples of foreign support include the Congo(formerly Ziare) in the 1950s. In 1959 Patrice Lumumba was elected as Prime Minister of the newly “independent” Congo, a country extremely rich in diamonds as well as other natural resources. Lumumba was very critical of the racist and unequal, power and social relations in the Congo as well as the diamond industry's theft of African resources. The Belgian mining company, the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), and the Belgian government conspired to have him overthrown and murdered. He was replaced by a figurehead dictator that these foreign powers found more acceptable by the name of Mobutu Sese Seko. Dictator Mobutu was finally overthrown in 1997 and he died of natural causes later that year. Mobutu ruled the Congo for 32 years and it is estimated that through his theft he amassed a personal fortune estimated at 5 to 8 Billion dollars (yes that is a supposed to be a 'B' and yes that is 5-8,000,000,000) in addition to the countless Billions he misdirected or gave to his cronies.

“.../I don't like it if it don't gleam-gleam/ and the hell with the price tag cause money ain't a thing”

What if Jermaine Dupri knew about the conditions that miners past and present endured. Even today when most people believe that since apartheid technically ended that somehow it's all good. Black Africans continue to work and live in conditions, that make Chicago's Cabrini Green Projects look like Disney World. For example, in Debeers's Kimberly mines division in South Africa there are between 1,200 and 1,400 workers. About 1,100 of them are black and live in squatters camps which are basically tin shacks with no electricity, among other things. Many of these black workers are paid as little as 28 American dollars a month. Meanwhile, white miners and managers live in comfortable homes with black servants. In addition, only white and part white employees with families are provided with family housing. Married black miners are forced to stay in separate facilities from their spouses. If a black, female worker gets pregnant she is required to leave her job for 3 months and return WITHOUT her child if she wishes to keep her job. White workers are never placed under these policies. If a white miner has a family, they are immediately given family housing.

Meanwhile, just a little higher up the food chain, in West India (NOT the West Indies) hundreds of thousands of diamond cutters, many of them children under 13, cut low quality diamonds for inexpensive catalogue jewelry. At times they are required to place more than 50 cuts, the size of pencil tip, on a diamond. They are paid 4 cents per stone and work 12 hour days, 6 days a week. I doubt that comes with any health benefits.

“I Rock Ice/ (lil daddy) every time I step/ I rock Ice/ (lil mamma) cause I love to rep.”

What if "Baby" knew that diamonds are not naturally very rare. Diamonds are made from carbon under high pressure, and on Earth we live in a carbon based environment. Most of the major diamond producing countries are in Southern Africa, but diamonds are also produced in Sierra Leone, Russia, Australia, and Canada. The diamond industry is more about controlling and restricting what comes out of the ground than the actual mining of diamonds. DeBeers controls approximately 75% of the world's rough (uncut) diamonds through its marketing arm, the Central Selling Organization (CSO). It mines 50% of the world's diamonds in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. The rest are vacuumed up through contracts made with other diamond producers, and by sending their buyers to clean up diamonds that leak onto the market from places like Congo and Angola. Since DeBeers is a foreign based company they are not subject to American monopoly laws, so they artificially keep the price of diamonds high by monopolizing supply. Trying to keep control of the diamond supply has forced DeBeers into business dealings with borderline terrorist and other shady characters, though they deny having dealings with most of these groups.

The lie that diamonds are extremely rare and valuable has been being built since the 1930s. During the 1930s and 1940s DeBeers paid to have diamonds placed favorably in movies. In 1947 DeBeers invented their famous slogan “a Diamond is Forever” which sells 2 dreams: (1)that diamonds bring eternal love and romance (2) that diamonds never lose their value. DeBeers spends no less than 200 million a year on marketing diamonds in 34 countries. Today the United States accounts for more than 33% of the worlds diamond jewelry sales. It sells the dream to every new generation of gullible young men and women. They sponsor women's magazines, host celebrity auctions and design competitions, and work to have diamonds placed on TV shows. As if the 1st gaffle wasn't enough they reinvent the dream for those who have already bought it once. The “eternity ring”: a band of diamonds bought to celebrate the tenth wedding anniversary. Is being sold using the slogan: "Show her you would marry her all over again".

These fantasies are aggressively sold oversees also. In the 1960's, before DeBeers muscled in, barely 1 in 20 Japanese brides wore a diamond engagement ring. Today, diamond engagement rings are sported by 70% of Japanese brides.

The fact that America's love affair with diamonds is the result of a marketing campaign is pretty bizarre, but even more amazing is that diamonds can be made synthetically. It requires some expensive equipment, but if a company or person has the resources, they can manufacture flawless diamonds in most sizes and colors, even the more expensive pink or yellow shades. In the 1980's General Electric was making these synthetic flawless diamonds though they weren't selling them commercially. When former, GE executive Edward Russell suggested that GE begin selling these diamonds to the public he was promptly fired. Apparently GE's higher ups and the DeBeers thugs had an understanding at the time, although GE claims Mr. Russell was fired due to job performance. I try not to wonder these things when I'm watching music videos or listening to songs on the radio, but I just can't thinking about it. WHAT IF THEY KNEW?! Sadly enough though, I don't think they would even care. AND THAT is the scary part!